2026
Flex: Masculinities in the Arts of Global Africa
February 28, 2026 – July 26, 2026. This exhibition engages with the artistic and cultural constructions of masculinity within Africa and its diaspora through historical, modern, and contemporary works from the Stanley Museum of Art’s permanent collection, in addition to strategic loans from contemporary artists.
The Black Gold Tapestry
February 3, 2026–June 14, 2026. Sandra M Sawatzky's "Black Gold Tapestry" documents the saga of oil, global societal change, and energy transition through the power and beauty of a hand embroidered 220-foot-long tableau, which she describes as a “film on cloth.”
2025
Weaving Narratives: African Textiles in Iowa
November 1, 2025 - April 19, 2026. This exhibition centers upon African textiles in the Stanley Museum of Art permanent collection and the voices from the African community in Iowa City, presenting a meaningful opportunity to explore relationships between the museum and African communities in eastern Iowa through the art of African textiles.
Hayward Oubre: Structural Integrity
August 26, 2025 - December 7, 2025. Organized by the Birmingham Museum of Art, this exhibition celebrates a key figure in the history of Black American art, Hayward L. Oubre, Jr. (1916 – 2006). This is the first monographic retrospective of Oubre’s artwork, and shares a previously unexamined history of American modernism rooted in the South through 52 sculptures, paintings, and prints.
In the Studio: Art at Iowa in the 1940s
August 26, 2025 - March 15, 2026. Accompanying "Hayward Oubre: Structural Integrity," this exhibition is a focused installation exploring the early years of the University of Iowa’s studio MFA program that places Oubre in the context of faculty and students such as Mauricio Lasansky, Philip Guston, Miriam Schapiro, and Houston Ellis Chandler.
Ethics, Art, and Connections with Nature: Exploring the Archaeological Cultures of Mill Creek and Glenwood
Summer 2025 - 2026. A collaborative exhibition between the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist, Department of Anthropology, and the Stanley Museum of Art. Featuring artifacts of the Indigenous people from archaeologically defined Mill Creek and Glenwood cultures.
Recent Acquisitions
March 2025 - October 2025. This installation celebrates some of the many artworks that have entered the collection within the last decade. Select African art acquisitions are joined by highlights from the museum’s growing photography holdings.
it's a fine thing
February 13, 2025 - July 20, 2025. Drawing from the museum's collection and significant loans, "it's a fine thing" explores themes of erasure, community, and the complex relationship between Black Midwesterners and the land through a range of works, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and performance.
2024
Alternate Paths: New Object Histories from Africa to America
August 2, 2024 - February 23, 2025. Organized into three zones, this exhibition explores artistic agency as well as ethical and material dimensions of African art collections from the University of Iowa and Indiana University, where innovative and collaborative research on African art remains a strong legacy.
To My Friends at Horn: Keith Haring and Iowa City
May 4, 2024 - March 9, 2025. This exhibition celebrates the Keith Haring's legacy and honors the many individuals who shaped his visits to Iowa City during the 1980s. The 1989 mural Haring painted for Ernest Horn Elementary School anchors the exhibition and is accompanied by other works of art, photographs, and archival ephemera.
One An Other
Summer 2024 - 2026. The most ambitious site-specific installation to date by artist Jiha Moon, who received her MFA degree at the University of Iowa in 2002. "One An Other" is the third installment in the museum’s "Thresholds" series, which highlights the work of Iowa-affiliated artists.
A Year in Print
March 1 - December, 2024. This exhibition features "Twelve Prints by Contemporary American Artists," a portfolio gifted to the Stanley by collectors Alan and Ann January.
2023
Drawn Over: Reclaiming Our Histories
August 23, 2023 - January 2024. This exhibition highlights the museum's collection of Native American ledger drawings, exploring how 19th-century Plains Indian artists adapted their storytelling traditions to new materials to document their lives and culture.
2023
Homecoming
August 2022 - July 2025. The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art’s inaugural exhibition that reintroduces the public to the extraordinary permanent collection that encompasses over sixteen thousand artworks.
Surrounding
Summer 2022 - 2024. Commissioned by the Stanley Museum of Art, "Surrounding" by artist Odili Donald Odita is the first installment in the museum’s "Thresholds" series, which highlights the work of Iowa-affiliated artists.